


Clumsy Coffee Confessions

by AspiringToInspire



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Diners, Alternate Universe - No Kwamis, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Based on a Tumblr Post, Dorks in Love, F/M, Fluff, it’s a diner, or well kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:00:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24210238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AspiringToInspire/pseuds/AspiringToInspire
Summary: “‘Marinette has a crush on me!’ He cries in response.There’s a pause as if Nino’s waiting for more, and honestly, he thinks that’s pretty self-explanatory. ‘So?’ is all that he says, and oh God, is he really not seeing the issue here?‘SO it's Marinette!’ Adrien declares. ‘Sweet, awesome, creative, beautiful, thoughtful Marinette!’ What is he going to do?”-Adrien’s just heard something that he probably wasn’t supposed to, and now he’s having a crisis. Nino really doesn’t get it.(Based on a prompt from OTPPrompts on tumblr.)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 44
Kudos: 339





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt reads:  
> Person A works at a restaurant (or diner, coffee shop, etc) and is already close friends with Person B. Person A is serving drinks to a customer, and Person A overhears some friends of Person B gossiping about how Person B has a crush on Person A. Person A is so shocked that they accidentally dump the drink pitcher all over the customer they're serving, and they become a clumsy mess at work for the rest of the day.
> 
> Link:  
> https://otpprompts.tumblr.com/post/182823045494/person-a-works-at-a-restaurant-or-diner-coffee

In hindsight, he guesses that he shouldn't even have felt the slightest bit as surprised as he actually did when he accidentally overheard their words earlier. He means, looking back now, it is kind of glaringly obvious, but he'd never thought- he'd never even _considered_ the possibility, really, so can you blame him?

Marinette has always seemed really nervous and uneasy around him, but he's always thought that that was just a given left courtesy of the awkward way that they'd first met. He's never believed it to be-

"Hey, Adrikins," Chloé had cooed in his ear on that fateful day, sneaking up behind him and looping their arms together like she always does.

"Oh, uh, hey, Chloé," he mumbled, trying to inconspicuously tug away from her, so that he could both get back to what he was doing and prove to all his coworkers that he hadn't only gotten this job because he was "friends" with her, but the blonde wasn't budging.

"That coffee that you're preparing wouldn't happen to be for Dupain-Cheng, would it?" She asked lowly, batting her eyelashes up at him, and he fought against the urge to tell her to please stop.

Adrien remembers scrunching his face up in confusion. "Dupain-Cheng?"

Chloé gestured over to where the girl who's order he'd just taken sat waiting on her phone in a booth in the corner. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She's a _very_ good friend of mine. She's practically in all of my classes," she explained, waving her manicured hand dismissively. "I've known her forever."

"Oh," Adrien nodded slowly. Chloé had friends? He didn't know that. "Well, yeah. It is. I'm just making her a-"

"Ooh, can _I_ do it, Adrikins?" Chloé interrupted excitedly, finally letting go of him and pulling away to give him her puppy dog eyes. " _Please_? I know exactly what she wants since we're such good friends and all, and it would just warm my heart to do this for her while I'm here."

That, he was certain, was new, so, "Are- are you sure, Chlo?" he asked. He didn't want to offend her, but that really didn't sound like her. Chloé wasn't just the only person he knew in the city. She was also the diner owner's daughter whom everyone knew absolutely _despised_ doing anything involving work.

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course I'm sure, silly," she insisted. The bell above the door chimed before he could say anything else. "Look, some new customers just walked in, so you can go take their orders, and I'll just take care of this for you."

The innocent smile she'd given him really should have caused some bells to go off in his head, but sadly, he ended up listening to her, and, after writing down what the new customers wanted and giving it to the cook, went back to the counter where Marinette's coffee and slice of apple pie sat waiting for him.

"Here you go. I hope that you _apple_ solutely enjoy," he told her with a friendly smile as he placed her order on the table in front of her.

She chuckled slightly, and his grin only grew. “Thanks..." she squinted at his shirt, "Adrien." Marinette smiled back up at him before taking a sip of her drink and, much to his surprise, instantly spitting it back into the cup. " _Ugh_!" She exclaimed in disgust, her face crumpling in a way that would've have been adorable had he not been about to jump out of his skin. "Oh my gosh! What the heck is-" She halted when she realized that everyone was looking at her and that she was kind of making a scene. "S-Sorry," she whispered to only him. "But what is this? Why is it _salty_? This isn't what I ordered."

A laugh behind him prevented him from apologizing profusely and ensuring her that there must have been some kind of misunderstanding but that he'd get right on it. _Chloé_!

"Oh, man," she cackled, splitting her sides, "you should have seen your face, Dupain-Cheng! Maybe now you'll finally learn to have a bit of respect for me," she narrowed her eyes and rubbed a hand down Adrien's arm. "Thanks so much for helping me out with this, Adrikins," she added, to his absolute horror, as she leaned into him.

Marinette's features darkened at her words as she realized what just happened. She scoffed. "Oh, I get it. Good job, you two. Very funny." She stood up from the table, furiously grabbing her things and shoving her way past them. "God, Chloé, get a life."

"No- no!" Adrien was quick to protest though because he didn't- he hadn't- he thought that he was doing something nice, that Chloé was doing something ni- okay, he's an idiot. "No, I had no idea that she- that she-"

"Oh really?" Marinette spun around to glare at him. "You're friends with her, right?" He wasn't able to answer that. "Yeah, that's what I thought." She shook her head and huffed before storming out the door of the diner.

His heart had instantly sunk.

He'd barely been able to concentrate for the rest of the day, and he couldn't quite understand why, but he'd known that it definitely wasn't a good thing, but if anyone asked, he could have just blamed it on his being new, and when he'd seen Marinette come in the next day with a friend and immediately roll her eyes and turn away from him as soon as they made eye contact, well, let's just say that the low feeling came back full force.

"Dude, you should go talk to her," Nino was suddenly right next to him some time later, and whoa, when did he get here?

"Who?" He pretended to be confused as he refocused his eyes on the table that he was wiping and not on the sight of her standing outside waiting for the rain to slow down.

"Marinette," he answered, looking at him knowingly. "I saw what went down with you two and Chloé yesterday, and even though I don't know you all that well yet, it doesn't seem like something that you'd do, so you should go explain that." He nodded his head in Marinette's direction.

"But what should I say to her?"

"Just be yourself."

That sounded like terrible advice, but he took it anyway.

The diner was pretty empty around that time, and Nino had told him that he could handle it, so Adrien grabbed his umbrella, braced himself, and went outside.

"Hey." He spoke up tentatively.

Marinette promptly humphed and turned her head away again when she saw that it was him.

He sighed, opening up his umbrella. He waited for a beat before trying again. "I- I just wanted you to know that I had no idea that Chloé did anything to your drink. If I did, I would have never given it to you, I swear," he told her quietly, unable to meet her eyes. "I mean, I just moved here, and I don't know anyone, and yesterday was only my first day at the diner, and this is also my first job, so this is all sort of new to me." He finally glanced over and noticed her expression had seemed to soften a bit. "I- I was just hoping that maybe we could start over?" He proposed, smiling gently at her and holding out his umbrella invitingly.

She stared at it and him quizzically before hesitantly reaching for it. Their fingers brushed when she did, but he didn't have time to think about how that made him feel because he wasn't able to help the laugh that bubbled through him when it closed in on her only seconds after. He'd felt warmth spread to all the corners of his body when she'd joined him and softly laughed too.

"W-What about you?" She asked timidly. "Won't you need your umbrella?"

Adrien only shook his head. "No, I'm _shower_ 'll be fine. Besides, I have an entire hour left before my shift is up. Maybe I won't even need it by then. Speaking of which, I should probably get back in there." He gestured towards the door of the diner. "Farewell, milady." He bowed in front of her like a dork, and he still has no idea why he did that. "Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow."

"Um, uh huh. See you to-mo- tomo-" She cut herself off, giggling slightly and muttering something incoherent under her breath. "See- see you tomorrow."

That had all happened months ago, and after that day, he and Marinette became really good friends, but like he said, she's always been so nervous around him, and he's always assumed that it was only because she was slightly embarrassed about how she'd acted that first day in the diner, because along with the nerves and jumpiness came stuttering and blushes, and really, he's always found that endearing about her, how she would turn a delightful shade of red at a simple compliment that he let slip about her designs or how she'd start at him seemingly appearing out of nowhere to ask if she'd have her usual, but honestly, he should've figured out that that wasn't the case. If anyone is supposed to still feel embarrassed about that day, it's him, so he shouldn't have even been surprised when he heard their words, because he should have known.

Unfortunately, he's always been a bit oblivious, so he _didn't_ , and now he's stuck in the back room practically hyperventilating because of all that and the fact he just might not have a job anymore.

"Dude!" Nino barges in and marches right over to him, eyes wide. "What _was_ that? Are you okay, man? You spilled an entire pitcher of lemonade all over that table, and then you just bolted!"

Adrien feels sick. It was actually much worse than that, but he appreciates his best friend not going into detail about it, and either way, he couldn't help it. He was completely thrown into a loop. "Nino, I can't go back out there!"

"Why not?"

He takes a deep breath before deciding that he should just tell him, even though he himself probably isn't even supposed to know. "Marinette has a crush on me!" He cries in response.

There's a pause as if Nino's waiting for more, and honestly, he thinks that's pretty self-explanatory. "So?" is all that he says, and oh God, is he really not seeing the issue here?

" _So_ it's Marinette!" Adrien declares. "Sweet, awesome, creative, beautiful, thoughtful Marinette!"

Marinette who always laughs at his dumb puns even as she rolls her eyes at him. Marinette who's so clumsy but still manages to make almost everything that she does look graceful and effortless. (He still doesn't even know how that's possible.) Marinette who, when she has the time, is always willing to lend him a hand in the diner, even if it's just to do something absolutely mundane like refill the napkin holders and/or the salt shakers on each table. Marinette who sometimes brings him croissants or macaroons that she makes herself _just because_. Marinette who's so popular with everyone on campus because she's so nice and helpful and patient and easy to talk to. Marinette who's an amazing designer who sure is going places fast, because with all those new bright and inventive ideas always bursting out of her, even at seemingly the oddest of times, how could she not be? Marinette who has pretty blue bell eyes and hair as dark as night and a pretty pink smile and a laugh that turns his insides to mush- _that_ Marinette, the one who's just so _apple_ solutely _Marinette_ , she has a freaking crush on him! What is he going to do?

"I’m sorry, but do you think that those are all bad adjectives or something? Because if so, I really need to get you a dictionary, man." Nino reaches over and pats Adrien's shoulder sympathetically.

"No, you don't get ittt," he groans. "Marinette is way out of my league. I'm so lame compared to her. I don't have a chance."

He was serving two of their regulars when he'd heard it. A group of girls whom he recognized as some of Marinette's friends had just walked in and found a booth to occupy. He was writing down what Marc wanted when he overheard one of them asking, "Is Marinette almost here?"

Adrien heard Marinette's best friend, Alya, scoff lightly as she replied, "Please. I think we all know her better than that. That girl is always late. I say she'll be another twenty minutes."

He didn't mean to be eavesdropping, but they were talking about one of his favorite persons, and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as he thought that that sure did sound like her. He couldn't tell you how many times he's seen Marinette rush in through the door to greet friends of hers who've been waiting at a table in the diner for her for quite some time.

Alya's words caused the rest of the group to start launching into stories about their friend's chronic tardiness, and while Adrien would have loved to hear all of them, he had to leave the table to go put in the orders for the customers he was serving.

When he returned to Marc and Nathaniel's table, which wasn't too far away from them, with a plate of fries and two glasses, he found that his friend was still the topic of the girls' conversation.

"Speaking of Marinette," he thinks Mylène was the one who spoke up, "do you guys think that she'll really go through with it today? Do you think that she'll finally ask him out?"

Alya shushed her, but his attention had already been piqued. Well, more than it already was, anyway. "Girl, keep your voice down. Remember where we are."

"Don't worry. Your burgers will be ready soon," he told the couple as he placed a glass in front of each of them and set the plate of fries in the center of the table.

"You know, I think she actually might... If she manages to find her voice this time," Adrien heard Alix snicker in passing as he went behind the counter to the fridge. He grabbed the pitcher of lemonade and the tray with the orders for table four, which he delivered before making his way back over to Nathaniel and Marc.

" _Ooh_ , but I really hope she does!" Rose was squealing. "She and Adrien would just be _so_ cute together!"

And okay, um, what? He feels the entire world come to a screeching stop. Did she just say his name?

"They would be pretty cute," Juleka mumbled, and he barely caught it because he couldn't hear anything over the sound of his heart and all their words suddenly pounding in his ears and blaring red in front of his eyes.

_Do you think that she'll finally ask him out?_

_I really hope she does! She and Adrien would just be_ so _cute together!_

_She and ADRIEN would be so cute TOGETHER!_

_MARINETTE. And ADRIEN. CUTE. TOGETHER!_

"Whoa, Adrien, what are you doing? You're getting lemonade everywhere!" Nathaniel’s shouts yanked him out of his thoughts, and he felt like he'd just been pelted with ice cubes. Oh right. He was still here.

"Oh my gosh!" His eyes rounded as they landed on the mess that he'd unknowingly created. Lemonade truly was everywhere. All over the table. All over the fries. Marinette wants to ask him out. All over the floor. "I'm sorry! Oh jeez, I'm so sorry, guys! I wasn't- I wasn't paying attention. Here, let me-" He quickly pulled off his apron for some reason and started vigorously wiping away all the excess juice off the table instead of just going to get a towel and mop from behind the counter to use instead, like a normal person, but in doing so, as if things _really_ needed to get worse, he accidentally knocked over the already overflowing glass of icy cold lemonade onto Marc's lap. "Oh!" Adrien exclaimed the same time the customer did, and he cringed, seeing that he'd done anything but make the situation better like he'd intended to. "Oh, crap. I'm sorry! _Again_. I- I didn't- I-" he stuttered out, starting to feel his breaths become heavier and his palms sweatier as he sensed that everyone was now watching him, so he did the only thing that he thought made sense in the moment. He ran.

"Do- do you guys think that he heard us?" He caught Alya wincing feebly, and suddenly, he really wished that he didn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I’d love to know what you think! x


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuttering. Just a lot of stuttering. And awkwardness, but it’s cute. Also, Adrien and Marinette have the best friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt also reads:  
> Bonus: Person B comes over to the dining place and Person A, being so flustered, ends up doing things such as stuttering a lot, messing up Person B's order, dropping dishes, almost tripping all the time, or forgetting to bill Person B.  
> Bonus 2: Person A apologizes for their clumsiness by buying Person B their favorite dessert.
> 
> Link:  
> https://otpprompts.tumblr.com/post/182823045494/person-a-works-at-a-restaurant-or-diner-coffee

In hindsight, she guesses that she probably should have never mentioned to Alya and the girls what she was planning on doing today, but, at the time, it'd just seemed like such a big accomplishment that she'd felt that she couldn't _not_ mention it. She'd chickened out for months, and now, she finally felt that she was ready. She had resolve. She was set on this. She could do this, and nothing was going to get in her way.

"I can't do this!" Marinette cries out, just about ready to die or maybe melt into a puddle, as she flings both her hands up to tug on her pigtails. "Everything is in the way! Everything is in the way!" She groans and moans and something else that rhymes as she shakes her head fervently. "Ohmygosh! I can't do this! _I can't do this_!" Her voice has suddenly dropped a few octaves as she repeats the same words over and over again, and she's sure that she's drawing plenty of attention to herself right now, but what else is new? "Girls, I can't believe you! Oh my gosh! How could you do this?"

"We're sorry!" Alya apologizes in a panic. "We didn't mean to, we swear!" She promises, and the look of pure unadulterated guilt on her face _almost_ makes Marinette believe her. "We didn't know that he could hear us!"

"Okay, wait a minute," Alix cuts in, "are we actually even sure that lover boy did hear us? We may just be jumping to conclusions here."

Marinette sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "He accidentally spilled lemonade all over Nate and Marc right after Rose said that she hopes that I ask him out because we'd be _cute together_."

"That's a good point."

Marinette groans, dropping her head to the table. "Oh, this is so lame."

-

Meanwhile, Adrien was freaking out.

"Nino, I am freaking out! What am I going to do?"

Not just because he totally embarrassed himself in front of the whole diner, but no, he also just found out that the girl that he's in love with- oh my goodness, did he just say love? Oh yes goodness, he totally did, and he didn't even realize it before, but he is. He's in love with Marinette!

Oh no, this just makes things worse! Because back to what he was saying, not only did he just make a complete fool of himself in front of _everyone_ , which, now that he thinks about it, he probably should have handled better by like apologizing some more then promising to give up his firstborn or, at the very least, using his shirt to clean up the whole lemonade mess, but he can't think about that right now because-

"Okay, slow down, my dude. I'm confused. You just said that Marinette has a crush on you, so how could you not have a chance with her?"

" _Because_ , Nino," Adrien wants to yank all his hair out, "even if she does like me now, that probably won't last for very long. I'll mess everything up in no time."

"Bro, _what_ are you talking about? You like her too, don't you? How could you mess anything up?"

"Did you see what just happened out there?" He demands, gesturing wildly to the door that leads to hell. "How do I even talk to her after this?"

His best friend sighs in response. "I don't know, but you better figure it out soon, because while I was cleaning up all the juice that _you_ spilled," he pokes Adrien's chest, "she walked in, so she's already out there waiting for you."

"She's _what_?"

-

"Marinette, no! This is your chance to finally tell him how you feel. You can't just _leave_." Rose is giving her her best puppy dog eyes and baby voice at the moment, and it's just. so. compelling that she's about to- no! She can't. _Must resist_.

So Marinette huffs, crossing her arms and looking in the other direction just in case. "Oh yeah? Watch me." She resolutely stands from her seat and-

"Oh, no you don't." Alya grabs her shirt and pulls her back to them before she can get very far. "You're talking to sunshine boy today, whether you like it or not."

"Yeah," Alix rolls her eyes. "We've been listening to you go on for months and months about Adrien's _shiny_ golden hair and _gorgeous_ green eyes, and we can't take it anymore."

"You should really like do something about it," Juleka tells her.

"Yes! You _should_ , and today's the day, girl! There's no time like the present, M," her bestie declares.

"Yes! Rise and shine! The goddess of self-confidence has awakened!" Mylène attempts to encourage her, waving her arms in front of her in a hailing motion. "You can do it, Marinette! I know you can!"

That's so sweet, she thinks, and before she knows it, it gets better because all the girls soon join in with Mylène and are chanting kind words of motivation to her, and Marinette's heart just beams at the thought of their support, so she scrunches her nose up in determination and gives them a firm nod. "You know what? You guys are right! I can- NOT! I _CANNOT_!" She yelps, eyes widening as she catches sight of the reason that she needed that pep talk in the first place. "GAHHH. Ohmygosh! Oh my gosh! There he is! There's ADRIEN. Why is he here?"

"Uh, because he works here?" Alix supplies, raising an eyebrow.

"Ahhh!" Marinette shrieks, shaking whoever's sitting next to her. She's forgotten, just like she's apparently forgotten how to keep her mouth shut. "He just looked this way! Then he turned to Nino! Now he's talking to Nino! Now they're having a chicken fight! Nino just pushed him! Now he's coming ov-!"

"Marinette, calm down!" Alya suddenly clamps a hand over her mouth while giving her an eye roll. "We can see for ourselves. We don't need a narrator."

"Buff is _Adrien_!" She tries to emphasize helplessly, but her words end up coming out muffled.

Alya presses her palm to her forehead, seeing as they all just practically wasted their breath cheering her on. "Oh, brother."

-

He almost trips as he walks over to Marinette's table because Nino is forcing him to. (Some best friend he is. (He doesn't mean that. Nino's the best.)) All his limbs feel like they weigh a ton, and he suddenly can't remember what water tastes or feels like, but none of that seems to matter when his eyes finally meet hers. It feels like it's been forever since they have.

"H-Hey, M-Marinette." Adrien thinks he manages to say. There's no way for him to know though, really, because for all he knows, he might have just been standing here stupidly staring at her for the last minute.

"H-Hi, A-Adrien," she nervously? smiles up at him, and wow, she's adorable.

"H-How's it going?"

"I have a better question. H-How pathetic is this?" Alix jokingly and so helpfully aims to whisper to the group but fails miserably, so Marinette has to glare at her and kick her under the table. _Bad Alix_.

"I think it's adorable!" Rose sighs dreamily, clasping both her hands together. Right. In front. Of _Adrien_. Why is she friends with any of them again?

Juleka must see her expression and the probably permanent dark color on her face because she smiles slightly and takes one of Rose's hands in hers, tugging on it a bit. "Maybe we should go," she suggests quietly, and Marinette shoots her a grateful smile for it.

"Yeah, you're right. Give these two love-" Alya doesn't get to say the whole word because all of a sudden she feels an elbow at her ribs, "-friends, _lovely friends_ some space. We'll be over there if you need us." She groans a little before standing and going over to Nino, dragging him away with the rest of them despite his protests.

Adrien clears his throat, and Marinette notices that the red on his face is almost identical to hers. Yup, he definitely heard them. "So, uh, can- can I g-get you?"

She almost chokes at that. " _Pardon_?"

His eyes round as he realizes his mistake. "ANYTHING! C-Can I get you ANYTHING?"

That makes a lot more sense, and she almost smiles sadly as, like always, her mind automatically supplies a love-struck, _you, please_ , because no. Now isn't the time. She means, look at him. So absolutely mortified at the idea of her liking him and asking him out. This is a total disaster, so, "J-Just the usual, please."

"R-Right. The usual." He nods _a lot_ before stepping away, but with his luck, there was no way that he _wasn't_ crashing into at least one person today. That person turned out to be Max, who, on impact, promptly drops the tray of empty dishes that he was holding, but fortunately, Kim catches them just in time.

Or _most_ of them, anyway. The sickening sound of china smashing against the floor instantly rings out in his ears, and honestly, how does he even still have a job right now?

"Whoa, careful! Adrien, you okay, man?" Kim asks in concern as Adrien loudly groans out in frustration as he drops to his knees and starts picking up the broken pieces of glass.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, guys. It's just really not my day, I guess."

Max pushes his glasses up as he bends down to help him, and Kim grabs a broom and the dustpan after he safely deposits the dishes that were spared. "The last time you were even a thirds this clumsy was during your first week of employment, which was," he pulls his calculator out, "two hundred and forty two days ago. Did something happen?"

His eyes involuntarily shift to meet Marinette's, and _oh no_ , she thinks, having seen the whole thing. _What did you do to my poor kitty, girls?_

"You act like such a cat sometimes, I swear. Get off me," Marinette had giggled one late afternoon when there hadn't been much customers in the diner. "I'm trying to work, Adrien. Aren't you supposed to be doing the same?"

Truth be told, she didn't mean any of it. She was already finished with what she had to do for the day and was now only doodling in her notebook while simultaneously trying not to pass out, and everyone knew (except for him, of course) that she'd rather kiss up to Chloé Bourgbarf than ever have Adrien leave her side, but it was always fun to tease him a little.

"You saying that you don't want me here with you?" He looked up at her with big green baby eyes, and how could she ever go up against those? "Oh, milady, you wound me."

"You're a dork." Marinette shook her head and quickly looked away but kept running her hand through his hair as he leaned into her touch and curled up against her in the booth.

Since they'd started becoming closer over the last few weeks, she'd learned that for her to be able to talk to him at least somewhat normally, all she had to do was avoid getting lost in those beautiful pools of emerald of his and not to really focus on his proximity, then she'd be set, and it was working like a _charm_ today... That is, until Adrien decided to sit up.

"Maybe," he allows. "But I'm your favorite dork, right?"

How was it possible that he could do those things to her heart without even realizing it? She didn't know how to respond to that. So evidently, she didn't, and she just sat there, unblinking, looking like a complete idiot, until Adrien's face crumpled in concern. "Marinette?"

Oh, right, words. "Oh! Um, d-debatable that's-" she tried to tell him jokingly, (like there was even a chance of fixing the damage that had already been done to this conversation) and she messed it up like she always did. "I- I mean, t-that's debatable! Totally debatable."

Adrien's eyes narrowed, as he leaned in close. "Are you _lying_?" He smirked.

Her face went crimson at his hotness- nearness! Nearness, she means, but she still managed to place her pointer finger on his nose and use it to gently push him away. "Wouldn't you like to know, kitty?" She inwardly applauded herself for actually managing to say it without stammering.

He blinked. "Kitty?"

She paused, backing away slightly, then she slowly nodded, jutting her lip out thoughtfully. "Yeah, kitty. It suits you, don't you think?" She giggled and scratched under his chin.

He grinned, allowing his eyes to flutter closed as he basked in the moment. "I love it, princess," he told her, wearing a soft smile. Her face flushed once more. That nickname was new too. "I should really get back over there and stop distracting you though," he frowned before standing and looking back at her. "... I'm glad to have you as my friend, Marinette." He'd beamed at her so bright then, but that hadn't stopped her heart from hurting.

"Friends. Right." Adrien hadn't seemed to hear her.

His voice brings her back to the present. "No, nothing happened. I'm finely complete," he tells Kim and Max dismissively. "Completely fine, I mean! I'm completely fine. Not finely complete or fin _ally_ complete." His eyes land on Marinette again as he unsteadily rushes back to his feet. "J-Just fine. Yeah, fine."

But she is anything but.

She groans out and drops her head to the table again. "This is a disaster," she repeats to herself.

-

"Dude, what are you doing?"

Nino is at his side again, appraising him with arched eyebrows, and he can only pout, confused. He doesn't think that he's managed to ruin anything in the last ten seconds, but he really could be wrong. "I'm making Marinette's order. What does it look like I'm doing?"

"No, I _mean_ , what are you doing back _here_ when you're supposed to be over _there_ talking to her?"

Adrien sighs, glancing in the direction that he points in. He looks back down at the coffee that he's making before his gaze tries to linger. "Nino, I'm just doing my job. Besides, how can I even talk to her when I now know that she-"

"Has feelings for an idiot?" His best bud finishes, so he has to glare at him. _That’s not very best-bud-like._

"You're not helping."

"Yes, I am, by telling you to hurry up," Nino insists. "You gotta get out there, man."

He feels hopeless, because he wants to, of course he does, "But what if she's changed her mind? What if after seeing and hearing about me being such a mess today, she's decided that she no longer likes me?"

Nino only scoffs. “Marinette's not like that."

"I know," Adrien groans, "but this is _terrifying_. I've never had a girl tell me that she has feelings for me before."

His friend’s brow furrows. "Seriously?"

"Yes," he says, shaking his head and finally breaking eye contact to focus back on the drink that he's handling, "not serious feelings, anyway."

He feels a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Well, this one's the real deal. You can't let her get away."

Flashes of Marinette laughing uncontrollably, gushing about the new version of Ultimate Mecha Strike, getting annoyed and telling off Chloé, scrunching her nose up in determination when she's trying to come up with the solution to a problem, falling asleep or just almost falling, in general, all flash through his mind at once in that instant, causing something inside of his chest to jump.

"I can't, can I?"

"No, you cannot."

So he grabs the coffee that he prepared for her and Nino hands him a slice of apple pie before telling him that he's mentally shoving him towards Marinette now since he can't do it physically, lest he ends up having to clean up another spill.

Adrien's only slightly shaking this time around, and he doesn't trip, so things are already going better, knock on wood. Marinette's head is on the table, and it sounds like she's muttering obscenities to herself and/or vague threats directed at her friends, so he has to awkwardly clear his throat to get her attention.

"A-Adrien." She looks up and her hair is all plastered to her forehead and her cheeks are tinted red and her lips are parted and pink and pretty, and uh, how do words work again? 

"H-Hey," he smiles softly at her, not being able to help himself. "Um, h-here you go." He sets her order down in front of her. "Usual your. I mean you're unusual! USUAL! Your usual. Here's your usual."

"Thanks..." She looks down at her customary pie and coffee, biting her lip. "Do you- do you maybe have a minute?"

 _Holy_ \- breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Is this it? This is probably it. This can't be it. She can't ask him now. He isn't ready. He hasn't washed his hair. He isn't wearing his lucky apron. He- he- he starts looking around the room for an escape, but his eyes only land on Nino, who's shooting him an encouraging thumbs up from behind the counter. He should sit down. He should shut up and sit down. He knows that he should.

So he takes a calming breath and does so. It's fine. This is fine. Everything's going to be fine. He means, the diner isn't too full right now. He's sure many of their customers left or got their orders to-go after seeing him wield the power of destruction all afternoon, so he's sure that the others can handle it for a bit. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time that he's taken a break to sit down with Marinette. He always stays a while after his shift to make up for it anyway, so this is just like any other day, really.

Except it isn't, because she wants to- _shut up and answer her!_ , his brain scolds him. "I- I think so. Why, up's what- w-what's up?"

She’s fiddling with her hands, refusing to look up at him. He doesn’t want to think about how that makes him feel. "I just- I just wanted to talk. Is that okay?"

"Course of. Of- of course," he corrects himself once more, feeling additional heat rise to his face and neck with each and every word that he spews out. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Marinette nods. "Yeah, I just. I don't know how to say this," she admits, before slowly bringing her mug up to her lips to take a tentative sip of her coffee. She pauses when she does, frowns, and oh, he thinks, this is it, the other possibility. She's going to tell him that the whole thing was all a big misunderstanding and that she really doesn't like him, after all. "Adrien?"

"Y-Yeah, Marinette?" God, why can't he stop stuttering already?

She giggles slightly, finally gazing up at him, and his heart warms up at the sight. " _Mon chaton_ , this is how _you_ like your coffee, not me. You're really shaken up, aren't you?" He hasn't brought her the wrong order since the day that they met, so he must be, she figures.

"I'm not- I'm not s-shaken up. Why- why would you think that?" She tilts her head at him. Is the thought of her liking him really that bad? "I- I'm sorry about that though," he goes on to say, gesturing to her cup. "Don't know what I was thinking." His hand moves up to rub the back of his neck. He actually does, but he can't tell her that, can he? "I'll- I'll go make you a new-"

"No, don't." His heart rate picks up again when he hears her and feels her hand on top of his, halting him. "This is fine."

His eyebrows knit together in confusion. "But you hate the way that I take my coffee," he reminds her.

She laughs, and it's all that he wants to listen to for the rest of his life. "That may be true, but I think that you and everyone else is safer if you just stay here for now," she tells him with a teasing smile.

"Are you _making fun of me_?"

"That depends," Marinette replies, squeezing his hand. "Are you upset?"

He shakes his head. "I could never be upset with you, milady, especially not for something as simple as you teasing me. It's not like that's new."

"Also true, but I didn't just mean-" She shakes her head too, ducking it and cutting herself off. "I just meant, like, you know, we're- we're good, right, kitty?"

"Why- why wouldn't we be good?"

"Because I'm in love with you?" she mumbles hesitantly, afraid of what his reaction is going to be.

 _Mon dieu!_ Did she just say- "W-What?"

Marinette sighs, pulling her hand away, and wait, no, don't do that. "I'm- I'm in love with you, Adrien,” she finally reveals, uttering it more confidently. “You're the sweetest, kindest, dorkiest person that I know, and you have a heart of gold, and you're just _so_ genuine and honest and humble and hardworking, and you don't give yourself nearly enough credit, and I love you," she enthuses, pouring her heart out to him right here in the middle of his workplace like a crazy person. "I've loved you for as long as I've known you, and I just- I just think that's it's time that I told you. Not- not because I expect you to respond or anything like that. I just- I just wanted to clear the air because I know that you overheard the girls talking about it, and I don't even know what they said exactly, but I just- I want us to be good. I don't want things to be weird like this. I want us to be okay, and like I said, you don't need to answer me now, or ever, really, even though I'm pretty sure that I already know how you're going to, if you were to, because I saw you accidentally break that plate some minutes ago, and I heard all about how earlier you spi-"

"I love you too," he whispers mid-ramble, partly because he thinks that she was starting to run out of breath and partly because he couldn't wait any longer to let her know. She _loves_ him! And he loves her! They’re in love! The mere thought of it makes his silly nerves from before dissipate.

"You... what?" Her eyes are wide, so he smiles and takes her hand before saying it more clearly, ensuring that she hears it this time.

"I'm in love with you too, Marinette." And he feels his whole body soar as soon as he does.

Her face lights up and his unconsciously does the same. "You're... in love with me? Freal- peal- meal-" she shakes her head furiously. " _For real_ (!)?"

Adrien chuckles. _Adorable_. " _Fur_ real, _purr-incess_. I swear on all my nine lives." He grabs for her other hand.

She giggles and rolls her eyes, firmly clasping both of them in hers. He loves her back! He loves her! "You do know that you're not actually a cat, right?"

"Details." The bell above the diner's door rings out like it’s been doing seemingly relentlessly for the past few minutes now, but this time, it alerts the couple of a large wave of people entering it, so Adrien groans. The last thing that he wants to do is leave her right now, but, the place has filled up a bit in the short time that he’s been sitting here with her. "I hate to say it, but I should probably get back to work now." He stands from his seat in front of her, and Marinette follows, their hands still connected like he wants them to be for as long as she’ll let them.

" _No_! This is the part where you kiss!" Someone somewhat assertively yells in the background. Marinette suspects that it's Alya. She groans in embarrassment and leans forward to rest her forehead against Adrien’s chest.

"Well," she can practically hear the grin in his voice, "we can't disappoint our audience, now can we, milady?"

Marinette moves back to tap a finger on his nose and use it to gently push him away from her as she laughs. "Cheeky kitty, aren't we?" Still, she reaches up with stars in her eyes, and he leans down with sunshine in his smile, and their lips meet for just a brief moment as Adrien's grip on her both hands gently tightens, and it's _miraculous_.

He steps away from her when it’s over, wearing a soft, goofy look on his face, and she's sure that the expression on her own matches his when he says, "By the way, since I messed up your order today, dessert's on me," and winks before leaning down to kiss her cheek and reluctantly pulling away.

"Yes," Marinette swoons, putting a finger up to her lips and one hand up to her cheek as the girls crowd around her, squealing. "Yes, it is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, liked it? Loathed it?


End file.
